Chamblee, Ga., July 1948 - Incident Number: 165July 1948

On the evening of July 26, 1948, an observer at the Atlanta Naval Air Base in Chamblee, Georgia, spotted a blue-white light traveling southeast at high speed from his post in the observation tower around 9 p.m. (2100 hours). The light moved uniformly across the sky, resembling a shooting star, but maintained a steady altitude rather than falling. When the observer turned to fetch his field glasses, the light appeared to gain altitude and make a sharp turn southward before disappearing. He heard no sound.

Shortly after this sighting, several residents in the area called the observation tower to report seeing the same object. The night was clear and still, with good visibility.

The investigation conducted by the U.S. Air Force identified multiple additional witnesses in the Chamblee area and in nearby communities. Near the Georgia School of Technology housing project in Chamblee, a group of people seated on the lawn around 8:45 p.m. saw a strange light about the size of a football moving steadily to the southeast. They described it as green, fading into a silver-colored tail. The light appeared to fade away during flight as if extinguished, and observers heard no sound.

Weather records from the Atlanta Naval Air Base showed good visibility and light, variable winds (two to five miles per hour) during the period of the sighting. No scheduled flights were operating in the vicinity of Chamblee between 7:10 p.m. and 10 p.m. that evening. Investigation revealed no record of any testing devices released into the air by military or civilian organizations.

Newspaper accounts from Atlanta reported multiple sightings across the region, with witnesses describing the object in varying ways: as a "mysterious ball of fire," as a "reddish-white ball" about the size of a cantaloupe with a tail, and as a "blue-white light." A sighting also occurred near Augusta, Georgia, around the same time, with similar descriptions. The U.S. Weather Bureau received numerous calls but stated they could not explain the phenomenon based on atmospheric conditions.

The Air Force file notes inconsistencies in witness descriptions regarding the object's color, size, and exact movements, attributing some variation to differences in atmospheric conditions, lighting, and viewing angle. No definitive conclusion about the object's origin or nature appears in the available file material. The full case file is reproduced below as held by the National Archives, comprising 34 pages.